Amid the Texas Legislature’s move to ban sexually explicit performances targeting children, a drag queen-themed burger joint will be opening in Dallas in June, perfectly timed for “Pride Month” celebrations.
As reported by the Dallas Express, the Hamburger Mary franchise will be opening its second Texas location in Dallas; the first is located in Houston.
The Dallas franchise took to Instagram last month to announce the opening of their location, but they only recently revealed the date of the grand opening. To mark the beginning of LGBT-allied companies’ celebration of June as “Pride Month,” the Dallas location will open on June 1.
“HV Entertainment and Hamburger Mary’s look forward to bringing this internationally loved franchise to the Dallas community and the Oak Lawn neighborhood,” said franchise owner Arthur Hood in a statement.
“Since its inception, Hamburger Mary’s has served as a safe haven for both employees and customers alike in the LGBTQIA+ community, and that tradition will proudly continue at the Dallas location,” Hood explained.
According to the statement, various drag shows and events will take place nightly, all hosted by the cross-dresser Danny Lee Cabrera, whose stage name is Liquor Mini. The restaurant also advertises their weekend mimosa brunches on their website.
Although the website mentions a kids’ menu for “Mary’s ‘Little Lambs,’” Tanner Roberts, food and beverage director for HV Entertainment, told Texas Scorecard the location would be 21+ only and the kids menu would not be available at the Dallas location.
“We had made the decision prior to the introduction of the bills that the location would be 21+, as it makes it easier on the staff to prevent minors from attempting to consume alcohol,” said Roberts.
“Then the bills were introduced and further solidified our decision of the 21+ rule to avoid the controversy and potential for protests that could be a safety concern for our staff, entertainers, and guests.”
On the other hand, the Houston location is well known for hosting sexually charged and explicit drag shows targeting children. These drag shows have attracted several groups of protesters and counter-protesters.
During one protest, a mob of satanic leftist counter-protesters made chants about drag shows being “harmless and innocent.” They also screamed profanities at the group of protesters, denouncing them as “Christian fascists” and “bigots” while sporting signs reading “Hail Satan” and “God is Gay.”
The Houston location has also been investigated several times by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) over the past few years.
On one occasion, the bar was accused of allowing a customer to leave the premises with an alcoholic beverage. Another allegation, made by a staff member, was that the bar had sold alcohol to a drunk customer. The bar was also accused of selling alcohol to a minor and allowing the possession of drugs on the premises.
Due to insufficient evidence and lack of video recordings or eyewitnesses, the cases were closed.
To date, the Houston location has made no changes to their age restrictions for shows and events.
“It is genuinely disturbing that these folks are so desperate to perform provocative and sexually explicit performances in front of young children,” Austin Griesinger, policy director of Texas Family Project, told Texas Scorecard. “This is grooming, plain and simple—and it needs to end.”
This is Hamburger Mary’s second attempt at a Dallas location, with the first having closed more than 10 years ago.
With the legislation to end the sexualization of children at drag shows on its way to final approval from the Legislature, the revamped Dallas location and the Houston location face an uncertain future as drag queen-themed, “family-friendly” burger joints.
“While the passage of SB 12 is a monumental step in the right direction in defending our kids from obscene and degenerate drag performances, the anti-family left will undoubtedly test the limits of what they can get away with. Putting children in hyper-sexualized environments such as drag shows or drag-themed venues is wrong, disgusting, and downright evil, no matter if that environment is described as ‘family friendly’ or not,” said Griesinger.
